Fictional storytelling has been a part of human life since the beginning of time. But is it the result of nature or nurture? Jonathan Gottschall, author of “The Storytelling Animal,” argues that storytelling is a part of human nature. It gives qualities to think and express thoughts with no boundaries to create a radiant and free experience. To prove his claim Gottschall provides secondary arguments such as the work of children, stylistic features like similes and concession, and grammatical person. All humans tell stories for a reason, whether it is biological purpose, joy, or escapism. Universally, children are known to story tell in any condition whether they are poor, rich, black, white, or etc. Gottschall states, “children pretend even when they don’t have enough to eat, even when they live in squalor” (23). Most children describe …show more content…
experiences of adulthood-for example, most young boys are fixed upon trouble while young girls are fixed on parenthood. Pretending is evolutionary in that it makes humans better individuals. The continuation of storytelling from generation to generation is proof of its biological purpose. Many children’s stories are related to adulthood, children often rehearse role of adults. No matter the condition, children continue to tell stories and pretend. The difference between boys and girls stories was how soft and gentle the girl’s stories were compared to boys. Even with a changed setting, children’s plot reminded the same. Gottschall also furthers his claim by using stylistic features such as similes and concession. Throughout the chapter the author use similes to emphasize his claim. For example the author compares generosity to the human penchant for story stating, “generosity isn’t for any one thing, and it wasn’t forged by a single evolutionary force. Likewise the human penchant for story” (27). The author is saying that story telling is evolutionary and was not brought up in one day. Gottschall gives you, the reader a chance to view others arguments such as John Kessel. He believes Stories are just for “kicks”. Kessel argues, “it is not to expand our minds, explore the human condition or do anything else so noble” (29). Implying and later stating, storytelling is for nothing. Gottschall then comes back with his counter agreement saying, “story may educate us, deepen us, and give joy” (29). Gottschall shares the opinion of others on the topic letting the reader form their own opinion. This also lets the author illustrate well-rounded understanding of the topic, while also enhancing the level of trust that the reader has in Gottschall’s opinion, and showing he is not biased. The author uses grammatical person to strengthen his argument.
Gottschall talks in first and second person to create less distance between the author and audience. If he used third person it would have created distance between him and the audience. For example Gottschall states, "We have lips because we need a hole to take in food and breath...we use them to express affection through kisses"(27). Gottschall uses a combination of the first and second person throughout the novel to create an effect of intimate distance, which gives him more persuasive potential and closer identification. The author uses present tense verbs to give the reader an onlooker’s perspective. For example, At the beginning of the chapter to Gottschall states," I face the heavy security door. I punch my code into the keypad"(21). The author uses an active voice to create less distance and allows him to take responsibility for his statements. A number of italics were used to put stress on certain words. All of theses grammatical techniques were used to generate an intimate distance while also giving the audience a viewer’s
standpoint. In conclusion, Gottschall argues that storytelling is a part of human nature rather than nurture. His use of secondary arguments such as the work of children furthers his claim greatly. The stylistic and grammar techniques increase his argument by allowing the audience to gain an out looker’s perspective and to form their own opinion.
Benjamin Percy uses the title “Me vs Animals” for a specific purpose and chose each word carefully. With only three words, the title conveys competition and comparison, gives the reader a connection to the essay, and instills a fear of the unknown. A title can make or break an entire piece of work. I think Percy contemplated over this title and chose three words that would accurately sum up his whole essay, with success. I would like to learn from this how to create a title that does just that.
Since the emergence of literature, thousands upon thousands of characters have graced our imaginations. From trouble maker Bart Simpson of the celebrated cartoon television series The Simpsons to Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen’s renowned novel Pride and Prejudice, the world has witnessed a plethora of characters in literature. Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, and Billy Collins, distinguished American poet, as well as countless other authors, share the utilization of characters in their literary works. The manner in which these authors use the literary element of characters varies immensely.
The change from differing mediums, novel and film, reveal characteristics and possibilities of narratives. Through the advancement of technology, modern writers
Storytelling is a way of expressing one’s imagination through fanciful adventures and serve a variety of purposes. One important reason is to capture a special moment and endure it but mostly because it unites us and of course entertains us. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, and Tim Burton’s The Big Fish, storytelling is seen as more important than the truth. Throughout the novel Life of Pi, and the film The Big Fish, it can be argued that the truth is intertwined with the lies in each story to form a new kind of truth. An example of this would be when Pi retells his story to the two Japanese men in a way in which he makes the animals human and introduces a different version of the truth. Both the film and movie also share a unique way of story telling because what they both share is a common moral “quest” which involves the main character, who is usually the hero, must overcome challenges in order to achieve a goal or reward at the end.
In traditional writing styles, the main element to give the story meaning is the narrative itself. However, with more modern and distinct styles such as the short stories written where the narrative is no longer the primary stylistic device, but the use of metaphors and distinctive different narrators applies meaning to the stories. Though it is easy to judge what is different from tradition as inferior, this change is no different than the rise of cubism in the art world. Even though initially many would comment on the art not being “real,” or in this case, the stories being poorly written, this style has even more of an effect. After
The two essays, Splintered Literacies and Writing in Sacred Spaces, both revolve around the inherent “why” of storytelling. Each addresses a different facet, with the former delving into how the types and varieties of writing we experience affect our identities. Meanwhile, the latter explores the idea of thought concretization. Humanity developed writing as a tool to capture the otherwise intangible. Whether belief or abstract concept, the act of putting something in writing creates a concreteness, trapping the thought in a jar like a firefly. The thoughts and ideas we manifest onto the page or into the air give life to our knowledge, perpetuating its’ existence.
With this concept, we can assess and place value on the stories presented in The Things They Carried. Yet, it is still not that simple. The reader is continually challenged to question what is real and what is imagined. The evaluation of each narrator is constant. While the protagonist continues to remind the ...
1. Growing up we all heard stories. Different types of stories, some so realistic, we cling onto them farther into our lives. Stories let us see and even feel the world in different prespectives, and this is becuase of the writter or story teller. We learn, survive and entertain our selves using past experiences, which are in present shared as stories. This is why Roger Rosenblatt said, "We are a narrative species."
In every culture, there are stories that get past down from generation to generation (Campbell 1). Tales of knights who slay dragons and princesses who kissed frogs are a part of every culture. All over the world, stories share comment characteristic. Joseph Campbell introduces a theory based on this idea called the monomyth, the idea that stories all share the same narrative pattern, in the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Overall, this theory shows the same narrative pattern in stories throughout the world, which symbolically reveals all humans must tackle difficulties and overcome them many times throughout life (5). Specifically, Campbell’s hero’s journey is comprised of six steps, which, collectively
Mueller expresses how stories allow children to achieve the impossible, such as flying when they are incapable and discovering the unknown. Stories give a life to the people who are unable to live, and that is one of the reasons why imagination is so essential to our world. The sharing of tales bring genuine joy to people without the need of materialistic items; it gives people the chance to relate to the author on a common ground. The sense of shared joy and mutual connection brings people closer together and expands on relationships. People begin to feel as if they are apart of an imagined community, which is a community in which people perceive themselves to be apart of, through common interests or relations from media or works of literature. Communities such as these allow people to connect with each other, despite never crossing paths. It allows the birth and the strengthening of relationships, for when people begin to converse with others, the first thing they do is find common experiences or interests that they share. In addition, a quote from Mueller, herself, adds to why we tell stories: “Because the story of our life becomes our life. Because each of us tell the same story but tell it differently, and none of us tells it the same way twice.” Tales are devised with the incorporation of the narrator’s imagination; it is a way to
Within the fictional worlds of Haroun and the Sea of Stories, the characters realize that stories are not mere entertainment, but are crucial to their lives. Fictional stories are crucial pieces to Rashid Khalifa since he relies on them for a career and brings him enjoyment. They are also important to a politician because storytelling is a critical part of a politician’s survival and livelihood since they rely on the storytellers to persuade and convince people to vote for them. Most importantly they are important to Guppees since they depend on stories to be the source of all there speaking, and the pages of Gup (the army) they depend on stories to help them fight. All in all stories can
For centuries, children stories have been a valuable tool in teaching lessons and morals. Like most stories that one was read as a child, there lies a life lesson that the author is trying to portray. Whether it was told orally like the story Beowulf or written by an author like Chaucer who wrote The Canterbury Tales, there are life lessons that are being taught through the characters and their challenges that they endure.
Savu, Laura. “The Crooked Business of Storytelling”. Ariel. Summer 2005 36. 3-4 Gale Cengage Learning. Thomson Gale. Webster Schroeder Library, Webster, NY. 31 January 2014.
This article explains how culture in media taking fairytales as vital of which many see it as of no importance or irrelevant. Many debate that fairytales are real fantasy pure sense; others view them as a helpful branch of life. Critically they approach them knowing the effect of the whole idea on children’s social life.
I am writing this paper because I was assigned to write it as a class project. Along the way I realized the importance of sharing the real meanings of all these stories. Stories are important because in the society we live in things are constantly changing. Fairytales change but the base of the story always remain the same no matter how many times it has been retold. It’s important to reveal the true meanings of these stories, even with its dark characteristics, because the world is dark .Children need to know that there are people that have told stories relatable to what they are going through. Fairytales help the development of children; it helps their maturity as they confront someone else’s tough situations, instilling hope of a more positive ou...